Brown Day 1—Morning Keynote Doubling the Speed of Learning ... · Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date, 2012 The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration

Doubling the Speed of Learning: Activating Five Important Keys

of Formative Assessment

Tim Brown

Day 1—Morning Keynote



Day 1—Morning Breakout

Day 2—Morning Breakout

Day 3—In-Depth Seminar

TimBrow

n



Tim [email protected]

Twitter: @ctimbrown

Desired Outcomes

! Explore the relationship between formative assessment and student achievement.

! Examine ways in which teams align their assessment practices to increase student achievement.

! Evaluate important considerations in the assessment process.

What Is a Team

A group of people working interdependently to achieve a

common goal for which members are held mutually accountable.

“Know Thy Impact” Studying Success ~ Dr. John Hattie

Teachers working together, as evaluators of their impact.

The power of moving from what students know now, towards explicit success criteria.

Errors and trust are welcomed as opportunities to learn.

Maximize feedback to teachers about their impact.

.93

.77

.72

.72



Tim [email protected]

Twitter: @ctimbrown

Desired Outcomes

! Explore the relationship between formative assessment and student achievement.

! Examine ways in which teams align their assessment practices to increase student achievement.

! Evaluate important considerations in the assessment process.

What Is a Team

A group of people working interdependently to achieve a

common goal for which members are held mutually accountable.

“Know Thy Impact” Studying Success ~ Dr. John Hattie

Teachers working together, as evaluators of their impact.

The power of moving from what students know now, towards explicit success criteria.

Errors and trust are welcomed as opportunities to learn.

Maximize feedback to teachers about their impact.

.93

.77

.72

.72

© Brown 2018. SolutionTree.comDo not duplicate.

A Learning Community Culture Asks

“Various adult personalities to come together to think about how to best act on behalf of all the students.

“It also says, ‘Don’t be content until every area where students aren’t doing well is erased and we are helping all students really be successful.’”

—Kanold, The Power of Professional Learning Communities at Work, 2007 (p. 44)

“Knowledge in most fields evolves systematically and predictably, and this evolution unfolds in a fascinating way that can have a powerful impact on our lives.”

—Arbesman, The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date, 2012

The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date

“You can enhance or destroy a student’s desire to succeed in school more quickly and permanently through your use of assessment than with any other tools you have at your disposal.”

—Richard J. StigginsAssessment Training Institute

The Power of Assessment

Five Keys for Improving Assessment Assessment Reform Group, United Kingdom

Adjusting teaching to take account of

the results of assessment

The provision of effective

feedback to students

A recognition of the profound influence assessment has on motivation and self-esteem

The need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve

The active involvement of students in their own

learning

A Learning Community Culture Asks

“Various adult personalities to come together to think about how to best act on behalf of all the students.

“It also says, ‘Don’t be content until every area where students aren’t doing well is erased and we are helping all students really be successful.’”

—Kanold, The Power of Professional Learning Communities at Work, 2007 (p. 44)

“Knowledge in most fields evolves systematically and predictably, and this evolution unfolds in a fascinating way that can have a powerful impact on our lives.”

—Arbesman, The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date, 2012

The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date

“You can enhance or destroy a student’s desire to succeed in school more quickly and permanently through your use of assessment than with any other tools you have at your disposal.”

—Richard J. StigginsAssessment Training Institute

The Power of Assessment

Five Keys for Improving Assessment Assessment Reform Group, United Kingdom

Adjusting teaching to take account of

the results of assessment

The provision of effective

feedback to students

A recognition of the profound influence assessment has on motivation and self-esteem

The need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve

The active involvement of students in their own

learning


“The most powerful single innovation that enhances achievement is feedback.”

—Hattie, Measuring the Effects of Schooling, 1992

Collaborate on “Matters Related to Learning”

1. What do we want our students to learn? (essential, guaranteed, and viable curriculum)

2. How will we know they are learning? (frequent, team-developed, common formative assessments)

3. How will we respond when they don’t learn? (timely, directive, systematic intervention)

4. How will we respond when they do learn? (timely enrichment and extension)

Assessment in a Collaborative Team

Write Common Assessments

Analyze Data

Develop Plan of Action

Assure Common Response

Common Assessments ~ Why?

! Identify students in need of additional time and support.

! Identify effective teaching practices, materials, and strategies.

! Identify program concerns.

! Provide data for setting team goals.

! Provide feedback to help students reflect on their progress toward mastery..

(Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, & Many, Learning by Doing, 2006, p. 214)

“The most powerful single innovation that enhances achievement is feedback.”

—Hattie, Measuring the Effects of Schooling, 1992

Collaborate on “Matters Related to Learning”

1. What do we want our students to learn? (essential, guaranteed, and viable curriculum)

2. How will we know they are learning? (frequent, team-developed, common formative assessments)

3. How will we respond when they don’t learn? (timely, directive, systematic intervention)

4. How will we respond when they do learn? (timely enrichment and extension)

Assessment in a Collaborative Team

Write Common Assessments

Analyze Data

Develop Plan of Action

Assure Common Response

Common Assessments ~ Why?

! Identify students in need of additional time and support.

! Identify effective teaching practices, materials, and strategies.

! Identify program concerns.

! Provide data for setting team goals.

! Provide feedback to help students reflect on their progress toward mastery..

(Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, & Many, Learning by Doing, 2006, p. 214)


Common Assessment ~ How

• Agreement on essential skills

• Agreement on dates

• Agreement on the method of assessing those skills (selected response, constructed response, performance, performance task)

• Agreement on how to score and report scores (raw score, percentage, rubric, scaled score, checklist)

• Agreement on proficiency or cut score

• Agreement on protocol for administering the assessment

A Question of Numbers

This problem gives you the chance to:• show you can compare and order numbers

Holly’s class is learning about big numbers.1. Here is part of the class number line.

650 660

Put an X on the number line, on the place that is halfway between 650 and 660.

What is the number that should be there? _______________

2. Holly knows a pony weighs between 365 pounds and 425 pounds.Write a possible number for the weight of a pony. ______________ pounds

3. The activity center swimming pool holds between 1,875 gallons and 1,940 gallonsof water.

Write a possible number for the amount of waterthe swimming pool holds. ______________ gallons

4. A school computer could cost between $2,950 and $3,055.Give three possible prices for the computer.

$ _______________ $ _______________ $ _______________

Copyright © 2007 by Mathematics Assessment 96 A Question of Numbers Test 3Resource Service. All rights reserved.

26


Task 5: A Question of Numbers Rubric•• The core elements of performance required by this task are:• • show you can compare and order numbers•Based on these, credit for specific aspects of performance should be assigned as follows

points sectionpoints

1. Gives correct answer: 655Draws an X in the correct place on the number line.

11 2

2. Gives correct answer such as: 380 pounds. 11

3 Gives correct answer: such as 1,920 gallons. 1

1

4. Gives correct answers such as: $2955 $3000 $3053 1 1

5 Gives correct answer: 1779 andMarks the correct year on the number line. 1

1

6. Gives correct answer: 1040 andShows 1000 + 40

Gives correct answer: 960 andShows 1000 - 40

1

1 2Total Points 8

28

3rd Grade Math Teacher: Petty

A Question of Numbers QuestionsQuestionsStudent Name Math CFA 1 2 3 4 5 6Ilse Absent

Emily 8 x x x x x xPedro 7 x x x x xAlexia 6 x x x xAdrian 8 x x x x x xAaron 2 x xLuis 4 x x x xCristal 3 x x xBrendon 3 x x xJanyxa 5 x x x xBrandon Absent

Ashia 2 x xSeleste 5 x x x xAndrew 5 x x x xAnahi 7 x x x x xMeleny Absent

Guadalupe 4 x x xAngel 5 x x x xLuis 8 x x x x x xJuan 1 xJasmine 3 x x xJenifer 8 x x x x x xSalvador 6 x x x x xLa-Bria 6 x x x x xDelia 4 x x xJorge 2 x xLitzi 5 x x x xIssac 8 x x x x x xPercentage at mastery

29

Common Assessment ~ How

• Agreement on essential skills

• Agreement on dates

• Agreement on the method of assessing those skills (selected response, constructed response, performance, performance task)

• Agreement on how to score and report scores (raw score, percentage, rubric, scaled score, checklist)

• Agreement on proficiency or cut score

• Agreement on protocol for administering the assessment

A Question of Numbers

This problem gives you the chance to:• show you can compare and order numbers

Holly’s class is learning about big numbers.1. Here is part of the class number line.

650 660

Put an X on the number line, on the place that is halfway between 650 and 660.

What is the number that should be there? _______________

2. Holly knows a pony weighs between 365 pounds and 425 pounds.Write a possible number for the weight of a pony. ______________ pounds

3. The activity center swimming pool holds between 1,875 gallons and 1,940 gallonsof water.

Write a possible number for the amount of waterthe swimming pool holds. ______________ gallons

4. A school computer could cost between $2,950 and $3,055.Give three possible prices for the computer.

$ _______________ $ _______________ $ _______________


26


Task 5: A Question of Numbers Rubric•• The core elements of performance required by this task are:• • show you can compare and order numbers•Based on these, credit for specific aspects of performance should be assigned as follows

points sectionpoints

1. Gives correct answer: 655Draws an X in the correct place on the number line.

11 2

2. Gives correct answer such as: 380 pounds. 11

3 Gives correct answer: such as 1,920 gallons. 1

1

4. Gives correct answers such as: $2955 $3000 $3053 1 1

5 Gives correct answer: 1779 andMarks the correct year on the number line. 1

1

6. Gives correct answer: 1040 andShows 1000 + 40

Gives correct answer: 960 andShows 1000 - 40

1

1 2Total Points 8

28

3rd Grade Math Teacher: Petty

A Question of Numbers QuestionsQuestionsStudent Name Math CFA 1 2 3 4 5 6Ilse Absent

Emily 8 x x x x x xPedro 7 x x x x xAlexia 6 x x x xAdrian 8 x x x x x xAaron 2 x xLuis 4 x x x xCristal 3 x x xBrendon 3 x x xJanyxa 5 x x x xBrandon Absent

Ashia 2 x xSeleste 5 x x x xAndrew 5 x x x xAnahi 7 x x x x xMeleny Absent

Guadalupe 4 x x xAngel 5 x x x xLuis 8 x x x x x xJuan 1 xJasmine 3 x x xJenifer 8 x x x x x xSalvador 6 x x x x xLa-Bria 6 x x x x xDelia 4 x x xJorge 2 x xLitzi 5 x x x xIssac 8 x x x x x xPercentage at mastery

29


Charting Our Results—How Did We Do?

Teachers

Assessment Results: A Question of Numbers

Total Number of Students

Percentage of Students Who Mastered Each Question

1 2 3 4 5 6

Mrs. Petty 25 48 60 48 72 88 36

Mr. Garcia 27 67 85 74 96 100 52

Mr. Swift 26 15 37 48 56 96 52

Data Protocol

1. What does the data tell us? ! Where did our students struggle the most? ! Was it question construction? ! Was there a consistent pattern in the mistakes? ! Which instructional practices proved to be most

effective? " Time? " Resource? " Strategy? " Product? " Motivation?

Data Protocol

2. What are we going to do about it? ! What will be our intervention plan? ! What classroom checks will we use and when?

Flexible Grouping Plan (3)

Students who need more time

Students who will benefit from more practice

Students who will benefit from enrichment or

extension

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

34

Charting Our Results—How Did We Do?

Teachers

Assessment Results: A Question of Numbers

Total Number of Students

Percentage of Students Who Mastered Each Question

1 2 3 4 5 6

Mrs. Petty 25 48 60 48 72 88 36

Mr. Garcia 27 67 85 74 96 100 52

Mr. Swift 26 15 37 48 56 96 52

Data Protocol

1. What does the data tell us? ! Where did our students struggle the most? ! Was it question construction? ! Was there a consistent pattern in the mistakes? ! Which instructional practices proved to be most

effective? " Time? " Resource? " Strategy? " Product? " Motivation?

Data Protocol

2. What are we going to do about it? ! What will be our intervention plan? ! What classroom checks will we use and when?

Flexible Grouping Plan (3)

Students who need more time

Students who will benefit from more practice

Students who will benefit from enrichment or

extension

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

34


Your grading system is amazing & the way you allow students to retake quizzes shows your dedication to your students learning. By retaking quizzes we must review our past quizzes and understand what we did wrong & why the correct answer is correct, and it really helps us to actually understand the content. Also, your availability for extra help was amazing & I took that time & came in almost every week & working one on one with you was what really helped me to understand the course, enjoy it and succeed. Thank you so much.

To schedule professional development at your site, contact Solution Tree

at 800.733.6786.

Thank you!


PLCs “require that [team] members reflect openly and honestly together about their own practice, intentionally seeking ways to do their work better and continually building their capacity to do so ” Failure to collect, present, and analyze evidence of student learning and the reluctance to make work public are major barriers to effective professional learning communities (Annenberg Institute for School Reform, 2005)

“One mark of schools that make headway on the achievement gap appears to be their propensity to promote and organize conversations based in evidence of student progress ” (Little, 2006, p 10)

“In our work, we help practitioners frame the next level of work by examining what they are currently doing, looking at evidence of student learning for clues about what is strongest in their practice and where they might see opportunities for improvement, [and] strengthening the capacity of colleagues to work collectively on instructional issues ” (Elmore & City, 2007, p 26)

Excellence in education requires that teachers work in collaborative teams to clarify the learning intentions and success criteria of their lessons, gather evidence of student learning, and discuss the effectiveness of their teaching based on that evidence “Teachers [need] to share evidence about their teaching with their colleagues”; in fact, “the key question is whether teaching can shift from an immature to mature profession, from opinions to evidence ” The education profession will not mature as a profession until professional dialogue focuses on evidence of student learning rather than opinions (Hattie, 2009, pp 252, 259)

For the first two years, none of the schools in the study experienced gains in student achievement The dramatic gains only occurred when collaborative teams focused the collaborative inquiry on “jointly and recursively identifying appropriate and worthwhile goals for student learning; finding or developing appropriate means to assess student progress toward those goals; bringing to the table the expertise of colleagues and others who can assist in accomplishing these goals; planning, preparing, and delivering lessons; using evidence from the classroom to evaluate instruction; and, finally, reflecting on the process to determine next steps” (Gallimore et al , 2009, p 549)

How Can We Create a Result Orientation and Foster Continuous Improvement?

Learning by Doing © 2006, 2010 Solution Tree Press • SolutionTree.comVisit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download this page.

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“In high-poverty schools that are helping students learn at high levels, look at student achievement data” to identify which students need additional support and which need greater challenges But this evidence of student learning is also being used to inform teacher practice Teachers discuss why one member of the team is having success teaching a particular concept and another is not, and “what the more successful teacher can teach the less successful teacher” (Chenoweth, 2009, p 41)

In schools that double student performance, teachers use results from common unit and interim assessments to help members of collaborative teams compare strategies and adopt those that are most effective Instructional practice is out in the open, the subject of public and professional conversation, and the source of ongoing, job-embedded professional development (Odden & Archibald, 2009)

“The expansion of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) is indicative of the increased emphasis on teacher collaboration as the means of powerful professional development PLCs are an indication of a broader trend toward professional development that is increasingly collaborative, data-driven, and peer facilitated, all with a focus on classroom practice ” (Barber & Mourshed, 2009)

Learning by Doing © 2006, 2010 Solution Tree Press • SolutionTree.comVisit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download this page.

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Applying Strategies for Assessment for Learning

(Stiggins, Arter, & Chappius, 2003, pp. 3–6)

Strategy for Assessment for Learning Modeling in Our Classrooms

Provide an understandable vision of the learning target.

Use models of strong and weak works— anonymous student works, published works, and your own works.

Offer descriptive feedback instead of grades on in-class work and homework.Make your grading plan—what work will be included in the final grade—clear at the outset.

Teach students to self-assess, keep track of learning, and set goals.

Design mini-lessons to focus on one aspect of quality at a time.

Teach students focused revision. Have them practice on other people’s work, on your work, and then on their own work.

Engage students in self-reflection and sharing what they know.

© Brown 2018. SolutionTree.comReproducible.

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Scenario 1: What Happens When a Student Fails a Test

This is a teacher’s response to parents who requested a conference with the math teacher when their child had failed a recent test. The teacher opted to write a response to explain his teaching and grading practices. Read the scenario and process the questions at the end.

“I try to teach my math class much as a coach would teach fundamentals in a sport. I teach, we practice, I drill, I reteach, I ask if students have questions, we have a final rehearsal the day before the quiz or test, and then I assess. On the assessment, the student must show they understand the concept being tested in order to receive partial credit. In the instance with Kendall, the concept was adding and subtracting decimals. The key rule is you must line up the decimals and place the decimal point in the correct place in the sum. He did not do this. Instead, he confused the rule with one for multiplying decimals. His incorrect answer was 0.23488; the correct answer was 23.488. It might seem like a small error, but the process was completely incorrect, and the answer was off by a factor of 100 times. That’s the type of error that results in catastrophic results in the real world. On the other hand, had Kendall simply made an error in addition, but had placed the decimal in the correct place, I would have given partial credit. I hope this explanation helps.

“I do not feel a conference is necessary at this point. Kendall is doing fine; he just needs to be more disciplined and careful in his math.”

Reflections

What is this teacher’s intervention plan?

How might the Keys or Improving Assessment be applied in this scenario? Adjust teaching to account for the results of assessment. Recognize the profound influence that assessment has on motivation and self-esteem.

Provide effective feedback to students. Actively involve students in the assessment process. Have students self-assess and understand how to improve.

Does your team have an agreed upon plan for intervening when students do poorly on an assessment?


Scenario 2: Second Chance Tests

Ms. Mini Chance is a new member of a dynamic biology team at Still Waters High School. Her team developed common assessments for every unit of instruction. They agreed to stay evenly paced, give the test on the same date, and meet collaboratively to look at results.

As the team reviewed the results, discussions focused on how the team would approach this unit next year to get better results. They discussed which materials and strategies seemed to work best and noted them in their team notebook. Mr. E. Nuff reminded everyone that teachers needed to keep these ideas in mind for planning purposes.

Ms. Chance decided to share a practice she currently used with her students when they didn’t perform well on a test. Any student who scored below 80 percent had to re-engage with the missed items by studying more. When they demonstrated they had put in more time and effort to learn the missed concepts, they retook that part of the test. Ms. Chance then changed the score from the first test in her grade book. The other team members listened politely and then resumed their discussions about next year.

After the meeting, Mr. Nuff shared with the team his concerns about Ms. Chance’s practice. “Isn’t this practice one that inflates student grades and potentially skews the grade distributions in the department? Does it prepare students for the real world by giving them a second chance? Isn’t it counter to what students experience in college? I’m concerned that students will stop studying for the first test. They’ll just wait to see what’s going to be on it and then study. That’s not fair to our students who do study and do well the first time.

As the veteran team member, Mr. Nuff decided to approach Ms. Chance and strongly recommend that she bring her grading practices in line with those of the team. He argued that her practice not only rocked the boat at Still Waters High School, but also lowered team standards and expectations.


Keys for Reassessing Students: Strengths and Greatest Areas of Need

Key

• We get it: Our team understands the what and the why of this key.• We’ve got it: All team members engage and implement this key at a high level.• We’re good: It’s working!

Key considerations for reassessing students’ learning

We get it.We’ve got it.

We’re good.

Teachers are continuously establishing a “success for all” culture and have explained and reinforced with their students that assessments are tools for measuring and nurturing mastery of essential outcomes.There is a written plan in place for retakes that has been collaboratively designed and clearly articulated to the students.

Students clearly understand desired learning outcomes and have been informed of how they will be assessed at the beginning and throughout the unit of study.

Students have experienced and interacted with expected outcomes and assessment formats—both formal and informal—throughout the unit of instruction.

Students receive quantitative and verbal feedback on their level of performance regarding the desired outcomes throughout the unit of instruction.


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Based on our discussion of these keys, what do we need to do to strengthen this assessment practice?

Time is given in class to differentiate instruction, reteach, provide independent practice, or form study groups related to specific areas of need.

Teachers analyze results of the end-of-unit assessment to develop plans and strategies for intervening with students who have not mastered the stated outcomes.

Students engage in learning activities that support mastering missed outcomes before earning the opportunity to retake the part of the test that they did not master.

Below-proficient students are required to participate in the retake process instead of being invited to participate in the process.

Students who mastered the outcomes on their first attempt are provided engaging opportunities for exploration when appropriate. Retake scores are recorded as learning scores when recording grades.


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Documents

Brown Day 1—Morning Keynote Doubling the Speed of Learning ... · Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date, 2012 The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration